


repetition

by soulioli



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Out of Context Spoilers, Some angst, Weddings, collection of scenes with a theme, first I love you, kiddos mentioned, like one scene of fighting, not real angst tho, ryuji loves his gf and haru loves him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24696709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulioli/pseuds/soulioli
Summary: Haru and Ryuji's growth together, expressed through one question with a lot of meaning.Post game, out of context spoilers, etc. No background pairings or anything like that!
Relationships: Okumura Haru/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	repetition

The first time he says it, it's by chance. It's a slow night, one filled with her scribbling thoughts for a pitch on a page and crossing each of them out as she thinks of something better. She balances a clipboard on one leg and leaves the other to tangle with his, biting at her lip in frustration.

He's on the other end of the couch, legs tangled with hers as he plays some video game. Their study materials are scattered on the coffee table, accompanied by snacks that somehow make the large penthouse feel like home. They'd long since finished studying - she needed time to think of ideas for a pitch, and he was mentally wiped. If not for the fact that she was currently shifting around out of frustration, he would actually probably be laid against her, playing something that they both enjoyed while she ran her fingers through his hair.

But they're not. They're only connected by an easy tangle of limbs that can easily be undone. She's so zoned into what she's doing that she doesn't catch the game pausing and nearly misses his statement.

"You know I love you, right?"

At first, she responds via a hum, going back to her task before her brain catches up to what exactly he had said. Not "love ya" or "adore ya" or anything else that Ryuji said typically - no. "I love you." She raises her eyes slowly from the clipboard, finding that he had been staring at her intently. He's got that little crease between his eyebrow that he gets when he gets concerned. Even though it's not a positive expression, it tickles the emotion she feels when looking at a Shiba Inu, causing her to fight a smile.

"That's the first time you've said that," She responds quietly. The smile wins out, lifting the edges of her mouth. His eyebrows relax, rising in slight shock as he looks at her.

"Said what?"

"'I love you,'" she repeats.

"Oh," he looks at her as if he hadn't really thought of it, but shrugs it off. "Well, it's true, so…."

She just stares at him for a moment, her smile turning a bit more adoring. Saying that now of all times was such a Ryuji thing to do. The ex-track star wasn't suave in the way that his friends were. He didn't have Yusuke's elegance and never seemed to pick up much of Akira's wit or debonair charm. That didn't mean he wasn't charming - in fact, Haru thought that they all had their own charms. Ryuji's charm didn't jump out on planned trips, or a romantic date night. He didn't make a show of understanding or even wanting to understand, nor did he claim to be the best guy out there. (If you asked her, he still compared himself a bit too much to them, even though they had been dating for months.)

Ryuji was just….himself. He didn't always get her points, and they had their fair share of gripes, but he was a nice companion. He thought of her more often than not and at least tried to consider her feelings when it came to making decisions for both of them. He was sweet and kind, through and through. He was someone Haru could spend all of her time with and still feel refreshed. Unlike his friends, he was a spur of the moment guy, but his little moments became big ones because it echoed his personality.

And she loved that. Of course, she dreamed of being taken out on fancy dates, but his loyalty and thought put into the little moments were worth more than their weight in gold. It would have been a big moment for anyone else to say those three words, but he had just blurted it out like she was the only thing on his mind.

"Sorry if that's too forward or somethin'," he blurts. It's then that Haru realizes she's been staring at him, too caught up in thinking about the situation to actually say something. She sits up, untangling their legs but grabbing his hand instead.

"It's not," she says, face warming. "I was just thinking about how much I love you too."

He grins at her - actually grins - and she mentally swears up and down that her heart will stop. It's been months, and yet he's still got a hold on her heart. It's a fondness that she can't seem to shake, but a weakness she never really wants to get rid of. It's quickly weighed down by a sadness that catches her attention. She gives his hand a squeeze and frowns, wondering what he could be thinking about.

"Is there something else?"

"Well, I was just thinkin' and…" His voice trails off as he thinks. She gives him a moment to do so before bringing him back down to earth. He looks at her and then looks away, fingers twitching as he resists the urge to run them through his hair. "Do you think I, uh, neglect you n' stuff?"

Haru's eyebrows crease as soon as the question is posed and she immediately shakes her head. "Absolutely not. Why do you ask that?"

He shrugs helplessly and looks away from her but doesn't say anything more. Her brow creases further. "Ryuji…"

"Alright, fine," he's weak for her and it's more apparent than ever when he answers her. "I was just thinking that we don't go on many dates, and when I'm over here with you, we're mainly doing our own thing, so…" He shrugs again.

Haru squeezes his hand again with a smile. Her eyebrows relax, causing her warm eyes to look even warmer in the low light of her apartment. "That's okay with me. If anything, I should be asking _you_ if you feel neglected."

Her words cause his eyes to swivel to hers in shock. "What?"

"Well, I'm a busy person, and I'm usually working on something when you come over."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter," he shrugs and drops his eyes again. "You're usually pretty good about that kinda stuff and I like it when you're near me. 'N we usually take breaks for dinner and stuff."

"That's how I feel, too. Just being in the same room and knowing you're there is enough for me." Haru smiles. "I like going on dates with you, but this sort of thing is okay too. We don't always have to do things. You, um," her voice catches and she blushes but shoves the shyness down. "You make me feel special without the other festivities."

He looks up at her again and her breath catches. Haru can't place it exactly, but Ryuji looks at her in a way no one else has before him. He looks at her with exactly the opposite expressions that Sugimura had throughout the course of their relationship. Sugimura viewed her as replaceable, an object. He looked at her the way someone looks at a porcelain doll before they throw it down to the ground. He looked at her like she wasn't worth anything - like she could be drowning before him and he would let her drown. He looked at her like she was beneath him. Ryuji, on the other hand, looks at her as if she's made of gold. He looks at her as if she's his favorite thing personified and he can't quite believe she's real. He looks at her as if she's a goddess who's come to earth - like she's the only person he can see. It makes her feel special. She knew that, however hypothetical the situation, Ryuji would always stand by her. If she were drowning, he would dive in to help her free herself and then support her as she made Sugimura beg for his life.

It causes her to let the air out of her lungs in a singular _woosh_ , transfixed by the way he looks at her and hoping that he sees the same warmth on her face. She hopes that when he looks at her, he sees just how deep her feelings run.

At some point during her thoughts, they have both leaned in to close the space between him and she only catches a glimpse of a wide grin from him before her lips close over his and her eyelids flutter shut.

When his hand leaves hers only to settle on her waist instead, her heart swells.

When had she gotten so lucky?

* * *

"They want me to go abroad."

The statement comes after silence and leaves Ryuji without words. Just moments before, Haru had taken a deep breath, descending them into the deep and tense silence they now lived in. Their relationship had blossomed since he'd moved in with Haru. The ring sitting in his dresser drawer was living proof of that. He swallows a mouthful of curry and ponders the new information. He probably should have figured it was something like this. Haru only really brought home Leblanc's curry when it was that time of the month or when she was in a particularly bad mood. He couldn't remember why, exactly, but guessed it had something to do with their extracurricular activities in high school.

That seemed so distant now. His second year of high school felt like forever ago, even though it's only his first in college. So many things had changed, and so many more things were about to change depending on how this conversation went. Ryuji clamps down on the feeling of panic that washes over him with a frown. Of course he didn't want to be away from his girlfriend for any length of time, but she was already giving up enough by dating him and not someone who knew how to help her with Okumura Foods.

"How long?"

Her head snaps up, wide eyes staring into his. The blonde lets his eyes drift and mentally berates himself for saying that. That must look like he doesn't care, or like he wants her gone, which is the _last_ thing he wants.

"Six months."

He nods, pressing his lips together. Six months is a long time. Six months ago, he was graduating high school. He was still living with his mother. He was running with the reinstated track team and cheering them on as their captain. Six months ago, he hadn't even considered getting married, only to wake up next to her one morning and realize he wanted it all. He doesn't want her to go. In fact, he wants to shut the conversation down. He wants to tell her that she wasn't going because he wouldn't let her. She wasn't going because she shouldn't.

Brown eyes glance up at her and then down again as the owner reminds himself who he's thinking about. They come to a decision that the panic did not: She should go. It's the best option, and he couldn't drag her down more than he already had. She should be dating or married to a handsome CEO that attended a first-rate college, not someone who's just scraping by. Haru is worth so much more than him. It makes the wedding ring in his dresser drawer feel like a joke.

"You should go."

The words come out of his mouth before he can stop them and feel like an ice bath when they land on the pair's ears. Ryuji watches her carefully after they take to the air, still wondering how he feels about the words. He almost regrets it at first and decides that he definitely regrets it when she looks up at him. She's not understanding, this time. She's hurt. The few times he had hurt his girlfriend hurt him, too, but looking at her now, those instances feel like emotional flesh wounds.

"Why?"

Her voice is quiet, almost nonexistent over the hum of electricity. It ignites a memory in the back of his mind, a memory of a very quiet Haru speaking to the Phantom Thieves before she joined them. His leg bounces slightly.

"I think it's a good opportunity. You need this kind of experience to be a CEO, right?"

She shuts her eyes and shakes her head. "It's beneficial, but not a requirement."

The corner of his mouth tightens. "I still think it's somethin' you need to experience." He doesn't know why he doesn't say what he's thinking - why he hides the fact that he doesn't want her to go. Maybe it's because she's facing this grimly - maybe it's because he's punishing himself, maybe it's because he genuinely believes what he's saying. "I really think you should go, even if that means we gotta make other stuff work."

"Why are you pushing this so hard?"

"I just….I would think you want to go. It's a valuable experience, right?"

"Do you want me gone?"

The accusation causes him to pause. He sets his fork down and looks at her for a moment. She looks tired and worn, like an old pair of shoes that he hasn't worn in a while. He's aware that she's had a long day - meetings had taken up the portions of her day that weren't occupied by her classes.

"I'm thinking about you!" He exclaims, blinking at her. "Is that a bad thing?"

"What if you're not?" Her voice starts out quietly, but rises and bends in her anger. "Did you ever stop to ask me where I'm going? When I'll be leaving? When I'll come back? Or do you just care about doing what's best for the company, too?" Ryuji tries to remind himself that she doesn't mean it - she's tired and angry, and he needs to be understanding right now. He tries to clamp down on the anger, but it still rises to the surface, bubbling like hot magma.

"Why are you penalizing us for thinking about you?" He says, trying to keep his voice down.

"Because it's not what I want!" She exclaims. "I don't want to go, and I don't want to leave you here!" The sentiment is sweet, but the comment stings. It's not that she means anything bad by it, but his brain is twisting it because she had already accused him of things that weren't true twice.

"I can survive on my own! I'm not some kid!" He scoffs.

"I know that, but what if we can't survive? What if the distance is too much?" She asks, voice dropping back into silence. He feels like he's finally gotten to the core of their argument, but he's still angry enough that he doesn't stop the words that come next.

"Well, maybe you just deserve someone better, then. Maybe then you won't have to worry."

He immediately wishes he could take the words back when Haru looks up at him with wide, hurt eyes. The blonde swallows and looks away from her.

"Is….is that what you really think?" She asks quietly. From her tone, Ryuji can guess that she's probably crying, but he can't bring himself to look at her.

After a moment he sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "No, I'm just - I'm angry. And this shit is hard for me, too. I mean I know it's way harder on you, but…." Another sigh. "Just feels shitty."

"I see." Her tone is flat and she's looking away from him. He keeps his head in his hands and just sits there, overwhelmed with guilt.

_Wow, Ryuji. Hurting your girlfriend twice in one conversation? You're just gunning for that Boyfriend of The Year award, huh?_

He shoves the thoughts into a box and forces his throat to function again when he hears Haru stand from the table. She's facing the front door as if she needs to get away from him. She probably does, but he forces himself to question her anyway.

"Where are you going?"

"I need time to think about this, Ryuji-kun."

Her voice is terse and cold, and some part of him combusts at the fact that she's back to calling him "Ryuji-kun." Not Ryuji, or "Ryu-kun" or a nickname she had tried out on the spot. She isn't calling him something new, they aren't laughing at how absurd it sounds. She's mad.

"Haru, wait." He reaches out and grabs her by the wrist. His grip is tight at first, but he quickly loosens his grip when she tenses at the contact. "Look, you're right to be mad at me, and I might not know anything, but…."

"Ryuji-kun." Her voice is tired and quiet. He's not reaching her and for a second he panics, wondering if this will be the end of everything. He wonders if he's fucked a good thing up again.

"I don't mean to keep talking about it or draggin' this out, or, just, shit, Haru." He pauses, and for the first time considers that maybe they can't settle something this big in one night. "Just, you know I love you, right?"

Haru turns around and looks at him sadly but with care, and for a moment he's sure she's going to say that she doesn't feel the same or that she isn't sure. But when she gently breaks his grip and moves closer to him, he knows that's not the case. She presses a soft kiss to his cheek.

"I love you too," she says softly. He wants to say more, but the words catch in his throat as he watches her turn away and grab her coat from the rack near the door. She takes one last look at him before the door clicks shut behind her and she's gone.

He stares at the door and wonders if this is the right choice.

* * *

When Haru looks at Ryuji, she sometimes finds herself appreciating the little things.

Standing on the altar, she appreciates the way his mouth quirks when he smiles, the furrow of his brow, the way that his eyes get comically large when he's surprised by her. Above all, she appreciates that he put thought into the wedding. When he proposed, she had expected to be the one handling most of the preparations. She expected him to just drop out after proposing. He hadn't. In fact, Ryuji was probably more excited about the wedding than she was, which she wasn't entirely sure was possible. Her soon-to-be husband had poured a lot of energy into making the wedding what she wanted it to be.

He rolled with every punch, fought with every baker and spokesperson until everything was perfect, and helped her in any way that he could. He honored her requests while sneakily putting in a few of his own. And it paid off.

For a second, Haru almost forgets that she's here.

Their wedding is atypical in every sense of the word. Instead of a Shinto wedding, they have a more western ceremony. It's fanciful and idyllic, and everything she'd ever wanted it to be. It sounded silly, but she had secretly wanted a grandiose wedding as a child. When she sat down to make plans, that secret want came back full force. So, now they were here, in a garden with plant life surrounding them.

In a strange way, she feels like her mother is with her. It rings a sad bell within her, but she slows down and remembers that her mother and father would most likely love Ryuji. Well, Father would have had several words with Ryuji, and not approved of him at first, but she's confident that they would have grown to appreciate each other. She squeezes Ryuji's hands and reminds herself again that he wasn't all bad as her mind roams to her mother. Her mother was….kind. She was sweet and very smart. In some ways, she and Father had been very similar, but in others, they were polar opposites.

Mother was kind, sweet, and loving. She had a good head on her shoulders, and the same curls that Haru had inherited. They both shared quiet giggles in the garden and a love for plants. Father couldn't stand to be out in the sun for too long and could often be ruthless when it came to work. But Haru had watched as they brought out the best in each other without fail.

She didn't understand how they could do that and why all couples could do that, but she understood it now. That ability came after years of a bond. It came after long nights together and working through fights. Understanding someone and loving someone was akin to the light at the end of the tunnel. Now that she's standing at the end of the tunnel, it almost feels like she's closer to her parents in some way - like she understands them better through her relationship.

Haru looks at her fiance at that moment and casts a silent prayer to her mother and father that neither of them would ever have to leave children behind. Now that she had stepped into the light, she never wants to leave it behind. She wants to share that with everyone. And when it's time for her to recite her vows, she does. She explains that she finally understands what love is, that she knows what it's like to feel truly loved. She details all the things she loves about him; she talks about the ways that he makes her feel. She looks in eyes that match her own and promises him that she'll never, ever leave this behind.

By the time she finishes, they're both crying and laughing at the same time. She hears a couple hiccups from her bridal party and smiles at that, too. Ryuji's next.

His vows reinforce his love for her over and over. They're awkward but sweet, and they touch a part of her that no one else is able to access. His voice dips and curves as he explains what, exactly, he loves about her. He explains that she's spent years convincing him that he's enough for her and that she actually tricked him into believing it. He explains how intimidated and excited he is about their future together and what it holds. By the end of it, there are tears again, but she doesn't mind. She's sure her friends will - a certain blonde model and her makeup spring to mind - but she's just letting them flow.

Haru soaks in every detail of the ceremony, tries to memorize it like she would memorize a speech or presentation. It doesn't exactly work, but it's something. When they finally say those short two words to each other, she's sure she's going to combust.

"Well then, you may now kiss the bride."

The sentence hangs in the air for maybe a millisecond before Ryuji's lips meet her own and there's cheering in the garden. The atmosphere is almost overwhelming, but she throws her arms around her husband ( _her husband!)_ and lets herself get lost in it.

After the kiss, they make their way down the aisle and all but run to the reception area, hand in hand. By the time they get there, they're panting, but beaming at each other.

When Ryuji asks her _that_ question, she knows the answer.

"You know I love you, right?"

Standing in her wedding dress, Haru Sakamoto determines that she has never been more sure of a statement in her life.

* * *

Haru goes into labor in a limousine.

In some way, Ryuji is sure he should have expected this. She's on her way back from work when it happens, and though she's allowed (and encouraged) to drive most times, he insisted that she couldn't drive to work if she was going to insist on going.

That had been an ongoing subject of debate within the Sakamoto household for a while. Ryuji argued that it probably wasn't good for the baby if she was stressing out at work; she argued that her stress would be worse if she was working from home or wasn't working at all. So they settled on a healthy middle ground - Haru could work, but Ryuji was allowed to hover over her shoulder.

Surprisingly, the father-to-be hadn't cut a single corner when it came to his future son or daughter. He consumed every piece of media that he could about being a father; he set up the nursery and ensured that it was painted a nice, lively green. They even paid Yusuke to create detailed designs of plants on the walls to make it seem more welcoming to the baby. His wife was quick to voice her approval, even going as far as to claim that she was jealous.

Ryuji had spent the past eight months living and breathing parenting articles, learning what he could about prenatal care for his wife, and ensuring that everything would go smoothly when the baby arrived. He was fairly certain that he'd read more articles and books in the past eight months than he had for the entirety of his school career. After the initial wave of anxiety over not knowing how to parent, Ryuji had done everything he could to rectify his lack of knowledge.

He was still anxious, though. The anxiety still coursed through him; it still had a hold on him. Unlike the initial wave, he had a handle on it. Now, he can channel it into something productive. Ryuji's never been the brightest crayon in the box, but when it concerned the pregnancy, he'd become the closest thing to a walking, talking version of Google.

So, when his wife goes into labor, he's sure he should have expected it to come in the most inconvenient place. Well, it's not like there's no way it could go worse - he could have been across town, or she could have been in a meeting, etcetera. But, it's still not great.

Haru always gets home later than he does, so after getting off work, Ryuji took a shower (just in case), ensured that they both had overnight bags packed (just in case), and went out to meet the limousine as it pulled to a stop at the curb.

When he did, he always opened the door gently, thanked the driver, and walked his wife inside while she reassured him over and over again that she wasn't going to break, and that she was fine. But labor is not always, so when he opens the door this time and extends a hand to Haru, things don't go as planned.

She's sitting completely still, eyes wide as she stares forward. When the sunset light enters the car, she turns to Ryuji slowly. Immediately, he's on high alert, because _when has Haru ever given him_ that _look?_ So he looks down, and sure enough, her seat is wet. Panic threatens to swallow him, and it takes the driver calling his name multiple times before he and his wife come back to earth.

"I'll be right back - just - just stay here, okay?"

Haru nods wordlessly, and he can't tell if she's in shock or if she doesn't trust herself to speak any further. He doesn't end up pondering it, though, because he's running in the house and getting the bag and locking the door before he can think about anything.

From then on, it's like tunnel-vision. He's aware that he says _something_ to Haru that makes her laugh but he isn't sure what, and aware that the driver is speeding to get them to the nearest hospital. He and the driver support her, he checks her in, and then they're in a hospital room and Ryuji's brain is not shutting off.

The tunnel vision was useful when he was still doing track in his third year - it helped him focus right before a meet. It let him block out the things that weren't running. Now, though, it's working against him. Haru has to remind him to call their friends and family and inform them that she's in labor. He does so immediately, but only distantly hears himself speaking to his friends. The words sound fuzzy, but they force themselves out of his mouth and the calls are over before he knows it.

Ryuji takes a seat next to the bed, holding out his hand for Haru to grip. She takes it gratefully and asks him a question that lands on his ears fuzzily. He responds just as fuzzily, and it's at that point that Ryuji realizes he's on autopilot. He's watching everything happen through a glass wall that he can't seem to break through. There's a drill sergeant screaming at him in his head, demanding that he get up and _move_. Similarly, there's an anxious voice in his head that is _freaking out._ He's on DEFCON level 2 and about to transition to level 1. And then there's him. Strangely, he feels calm and ready deep down. He's spent months reading and preparing for this moment. He's spent months looking forward to finally having his own family.

He needs to come back on the other side of the glass.

He needs to say _something_ because he can't just grip her hand in silence while she delivers their baby. He just doesn't know what. Despite how ready he is; despite the fact that he had read everything he could leading up to this, he doesn't feel ready. He can't remember anything. Instead of freaking out further, he tries to take a deep breath. Maybe a conversation will work.

"Hey, Haru?"

"What?" She asks, breathing through another contraction.

"Uh, you know I love you, right?" He offers. His wife turns to him with a glare.

"I love you too, but if you insist on holding a conversation while I give birth to our child, your hand is going to be more than sore after this."

Her tone is angry and dangerous, but for some reason, his heart doesn't drop at the threat. If anything, it reassures him that his wife isn't keeping up any pretenses. She's solely focused on bringing a baby into this world, while also just as panicked as he is. This is new for her, too. It reminds him that he should probably be more focused on supporting her than distracting her.

He squeezes her hand back as if daring her to tighten her grip further and tries to think of some of the phrases he'd read online to reassure her. When he's not panicked over the fact that this is really happening, the material comes back to him easily, as well as some advice from his best friend.

From then on, it's easy to stand by her and whisper encouraging things while keeping her hair from matting to her face.

She squeezes his hand back tighter and makes an attempt to even out her breathing through the labor pains.

5 hours later, Shun Sakamoto opens his warm brown eyes to greet the two crying faces of his parents.

* * *

The first thing that Haru hears when she wakes up is a quiet giggle and a call for her.

"...ommy! Mommy!"

Her eyes flutter open, focusing slowly on the room. It's probably one of her favorite rooms in the house, but the room fills with daylight when the curtains aren't drawn. So, naturally, when she opens her eyes, the first thing she registers is that the room is _bright._ The second thing she registers is that her eldest child is standing by her side of the bed, bouncing up and down in place. The third thing that she registers is that there's a shadow standing over her, which reveals itself to be her husband when she glances upward.

She manages to give the two of them a genuine, content smile. While she doesn't know what's going on right now, she has certainly been awoken under worse circumstances. So she just drinks in the sight of her husband and son, happy that this morning isn't chaos.

Standing near each other, they're virtually the same person. Shun Sakamoto is the spitting image of his father, and it's never more apparent than when they're standing by each other, identical smiles on their faces. Ryuji's hair had long since lost it's bleached color and returned to a nice shade of brown, and Shun's is just a little lighter looking in the morning light. Her eyes travel down from their faces, and it's then that she registers the fourth thing.

Her husband is holding a tray table in his hands.

Haru blinks a couple of times, just to make sure she's seeing the tray right, and that it's not something else. Her vision proves itself to be accurate, causing her to pull herself up with a yawn and a stretch.

"Well, good morning,"

"Mornin'!" Shun echoes. Ryuji just smiles at her and sets the tray down, accompanied by a kiss on the cheek. On the tray is breakfast, complete with a napkin and a small vase containing two flowers. A bright smile crawls over her face at the sight.

"Oh, what's all this?" She asks, glancing between her husband and son. Ryuji ruffles Shun's hair, who scrunches his nose, but looks up at his dad as if asking for permission.

"Go on, why don't you tell Mom what you did?" He says, grinning.

Shun looks like they've given him the key to a toy store. "Okay! Well, Kimi-chan and I wanted to make breakfast 'cause it looked like fun! So, we woke Daddy up and he said we should do something for you since you work so hard n' stuff." He pauses and looks back to his father, who nods in encouragement. Haru smiles down at him as well and realizes that her daughter is next to him, holding her blanket in one hand and her brother's hand with the other as her husband stands behind them.

Shun's voice takes to the air and draws her attention again when he speaks next. "So, we wanted to do a, uh, bed in breakfast, no, um…" he trails off, looking up at Ryuji with a perplexed expression. "What was it again, Daddy?"

"Breakfast in bed," Ryuji corrects, grinning. Shun brightens.

"Yeah! That! So, um, we made breakfast with lots of love!"

Haru's eyes drop from her family to the tray on the bed. On it is her favorite breakfast, complete with a cup of tea. Her eyes move from it to the sloppily cut flowers in the vase and guesses they aren't something her gardener has cut, which leaves the two of them. Judging by the smudge of dirt on Shun's face and the dirt on the edges of Kimiko's nightgown, it's probably something they picked together. Her smile brightens.

"It looks wonderful."

"Go on, try, try!" Shun encourages. Kimiko squeals her agreement, so Haru lifts her hands from the bed and tries a bite. The flavors overwhelm her tongue immediately, but it's a good kind of overwhelmed. It takes over her tastebuds by force but isn't unpleasant in doing so.

"It's amazing!" She exclaims, beaming down at them. She's rewarded with watching her son and husband high-five, along with a couple tries and misses from Kumiko. They turn back to her only when her quiet giggles reach their ears, eyes full of joy.

"You know we love you, right?" Ryuji asks, grinning at her. From his side, their son shows an identical, bright smile.

"Yeah! More than anything in the whole wide world, Mommy!"

Haru looks over her family with a smile, heart swelling as it beats in her chest. In that particular heartbeat, she knows that she would never do anything to jeopardize this, to hurt them. In that heartbeat, the question her husband had repeated to her over the years wasn't a question, but a reassurance that he felt the same sentiment. In that heartbeat, she knew she would do it all over again if given the chance.

"I love you much more, I promise."

Shun squints at her. "Nuh-uh! Not more than the whole wide world!"

"What about to the moon and back?" She proposes.

He frowns in thought. "That is more than the whole world…."

It's then that Ryuji bends down, whispering something to his son that causes Shun to brighten as he nods. Haru watches as he puffs out his chest and places his fists on his hips, standing in a superhero pose. "Well, I love you to infinity and beyond!"

That wrenches a laugh out of Haru, who attempts to smother it behind a hand. Once she finds she can't, however, she simply lets herself lean into it, gazing at her family fondly. "Okay, I guess you and Kimiko-chan win."

If it's possible for him to brighten any further, he does, turning around to eagerly talk to his father about his victory. Ryuji properly crouches down to his level and indulges him as Kumiko stares up at her. Haru moves things and lifts her onto the bed, dirty nightgown and all.

Her presence fills Haru with an unparalleled warmth, especially as she curls into her mother's chest and holds her blanket close.

She places a kiss to the top of her daughter's forehead and knows that this is the place in the world she's meant to be.

**Author's Note:**

> so hi!! i uh, hope you like it. idk why but haruji is a huge comfort ship for me right now and i really enjoy their dynamic!! with this fic, i mainly wanted to focus on the growth of their relationship, both the good and the bad. there are parts i want to elaborate on (ie the wedding and birth scenes) because they deserve fics of their own.  
> a couple notes:  
> their kids - i think they have 3 in total, but i just didn't include the third.  
> their wedding - honestly i just wanted to write a cute ryuharu wedding where they get married in a garden and talk about how haru feels closer to her parents. kanna okumura (her mother) will be further explored in my next MFI chapter, so yeah. that's what i'm gonna say on that.  
> ryuji - listen he may be an idiot man but he's an idiot man who tries and i LOVE my idiot man. you also can't convince me that he wouldn't freak out when it comes to kids and panic so he just absorbs everything and forgets it at the 11th hour. anyway they're cute, i like writing them  
> if you read all of this, thanks! please consider leaving a nice comment or a bookmark, whatever you can to show some support!! i hope you all have a wonderful day! (and don't mind my shitty editing, it's 4:30 am where i am and i Have Not Slept


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